Best Way to Clean Your Felt

12/7/2010 10:42:24 AM

Best Way to Clean Your Felt

What is the best way to clean the felt on a pool table?

I remember when I got my pool table and had it re-felted. The pool table tech told me not to brush it, but rather, to "clean it" instead. I have a Simonis cloth but I am not sure what number it is. He said I should use a vacuum on the pool table cloth for best results. His reasoning was that when you brush pool table cloth, the dust, chalk and talc (I don't use talc) will get pushed through the fibers and get stuck underneath/between the slate pool table bed and the cloth.

Does anyone know if this is true?

Previous to this I always brushed toward the head of the pool table with a standard pool table brush.

Brushing only moves chalk dust and doesn't remove it. Use a vacuum with a flat (non-rotating) attachment or a dustbuster to remove chalk dust. Then give the cloth a light wipe down with a damp cloth (microfiber). Make sure the cloth is really wrung out. Instead of the vacuum you can pickup a Simonis X1 which does a great job of removing chalk dust.

If you want to vacuum on your pool table, use the drapery attachment. It is the one with the long fiber curtain that prevents the vacuum from sucking up the draperies. Often these also have a vent port to reduce the level of suction. Use it. Billiard chalk is very light and the least amount of suction still removes the chalk and talc.

But, the best way to remove the chalk is to get a dish-towel (or terry-cloth towel) and get it wet, not dripping wet, but wet. Take the towel and lay it on a small section of the table. Pat the cloth with your palms and fingers into the table. Now lift the towel, take it back to the sink and rinse it with water. Rinse it out to the point is has no drips, and repeat on the next section. This process lifts the chalk from the table. run a small fan in the room until the room until the table is dry. Expect the table to play slow for at least a full day.

This process gets the chalk (and talc if you use it) without brushing it deeper into the cloth. And as a side benefit, the cloth will tighten up just a hair in the process. Can be used as a room humidifier in colder months.